U.S. patent application number 10/899360 was filed with the patent office on 2006-01-26 for transistor fabrication methods using dual sidewall spacers.
Invention is credited to Haowen Bu, PR Chidambaram, Lindsey Hall, Rajesh Khamankar.
Application Number | 20060019456 10/899360 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35657770 |
Filed Date | 2006-01-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060019456 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bu; Haowen ; et al. |
January 26, 2006 |
Transistor fabrication methods using dual sidewall spacers
Abstract
Methods (50) are presented for transistor fabrication, in which
first and second sidewall spacers (120a, 120b) are formed laterally
outward from a gate structure (114), after which a source/drain
region (116) is implanted. The method (50) further comprises
removing all or a portion of the second sidewall spacer (120b)
after implanting the source/drain region (116), where the remaining
sidewall spacer (120a) is narrower following the source/drain
implant to improve source/drain contact resistance and PMD gap
fill, and to facilitate inducing stress in the transistor
channel.
Inventors: |
Bu; Haowen; (Plano, TX)
; Chidambaram; PR; (Richardson, TX) ; Khamankar;
Rajesh; (Coppell, TX) ; Hall; Lindsey; (Plano,
TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
P O BOX 655474, M/S 3999
DALLAS
TX
75265
US
|
Family ID: |
35657770 |
Appl. No.: |
10/899360 |
Filed: |
July 26, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
438/303 ;
257/E21.438; 257/E29.266 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 29/7843 20130101;
H01L 29/6653 20130101; H01L 29/7842 20130101; H01L 29/7833
20130101; H01L 29/6659 20130101; H01L 29/6656 20130101; H01L 29/665
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
438/303 |
International
Class: |
H01L 21/336 20060101
H01L021/336 |
Claims
1. A method of fabricating a transistor, the method comprising:
forming a gate structure over a channel region of a semiconductor
body; forming a first sidewall spacer along a lateral side of the
gate structure; forming a second sidewall spacer along a lateral
side of the first sidewall spacer; performing a deep source/drain
implant to implant dopants into a source/drain region of the
semiconductor body after forming the second sidewall spacer; and
removing at least a portion of the second sidewall spacer after the
deep source/drain implant.
2. The method of claim 1: wherein forming the first sidewall spacer
comprises: forming a first sidewall spacer material over the gate
structure and over the source/drain region of the semiconductor
body, and performing a first anisotropic etch process to
selectively remove the first sidewall spacer material from over the
gate structure and from an outer portion of the source/drain
region, leaving the first sidewall spacer along the lateral side of
the gate structure over a portion of the source/drain region; and
wherein forming the second sidewall spacer comprises: forming a
second sidewall spacer material over the gate structure, over the
first sidewall spacer, and over the outer portion of the
source/drain region, and performing a second anisotropic etch
process to selectively remove the second sidewall spacer material
from over the gate structure and from part of the outer portion of
the source/drain region, leaving the second sidewall spacer along
the lateral side of the first sidewall spacer.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first and second sidewall
spacer materials are different.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein removing at least a portion of
the second sidewall spacer comprises performing a third etch
process to remove at least a portion of the second sidewall spacer
material after the deep source/drain implant, the third etch
process being selective to the first sidewall spacer material.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein forming the first sidewall spacer
comprises depositing Si.sub.WC.sub.XN.sub.Y or
Si.sub.WC.sub.XN.sub.YO.sub.Z using a BTBAS precursor, and wherein
forming the second sidewall spacer material comprises depositing
silicon nitride with substantially no carbon.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein removing at least a portion of
the second sidewall spacer comprises performing a third etch
process to remove at least a portion of the second sidewall spacer
material after the deep source/drain implant, the third etch
process being selective to the first sidewall spacer material.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein removing at least a portion of
the second sidewall spacer comprises wet etching the second
sidewall spacer material using phosphoric acid at a temperature of
about 160 degrees C. after the deep source/drain implant.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein removing at least a portion of
the second sidewall spacer comprises reducing a lateral width of
the second sidewall spacer by about 100 .ANG. or more after the
deep source/drain implant.
9. The method of claim 5, further comprising forming a stress
inducing material over the gate and the first sidewall spacer after
removing at least a portion of the second sidewall spacer.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second sidewall
spacers are of different materials.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein removing at least a portion of
the second sidewall spacer comprises performing an etch process to
remove at least a portion of the second sidewall spacer material
after the deep source/drain implant, the etch process being
selective to the first sidewall spacer.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first sidewall spacer
comprises Si.sub.WC.sub.XN.sub.Y or Si.sub.WC.sub.XN.sub.YO.sub.Z,
and wherein the second sidewall spacer comprises silicon nitride
with substantially no carbon.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein removing at least a portion of
the second sidewall spacer comprises wet etching the second
sidewall spacer material using phosphoric acid at a temperature of
about 160 degrees C. after the deep source/drain implant.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein removing at least a portion of
the second sidewall spacer comprises reducing a lateral width of
the second sidewall spacer by about 100 .ANG. or more after the
deep source/drain implant.
15. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming a stress
inducing material over the gate and the first sidewall spacer after
removing at least a portion of the second sidewall spacer.
16. A method of fabricating a transistor, the method comprising:
forming first and second sidewall spacers laterally outward from a
gate structure, the first sidewall spacer extending between a
lateral side of the gate structure and the second sidewall spacer;
implanting a source/drain region of a semiconductor body after
forming the first and second sidewall spacers; and removing
substantially all of the second sidewall spacer after implanting
the source/drain region.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first and second sidewall
spacers are of different materials.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein removing substantially all of
the second sidewall spacer comprises performing an etch process to
remove substantially all of the second sidewall spacer material
after the deep source/drain implant, the etch process being
selective to the first sidewall spacer.
19. The method of claim 16, further comprising forming a stress
inducing material over the gate and the first sidewall spacer after
removing at least a portion of the second sidewall spacer.
20. The method of claim 16, wherein removing substantially all of
the second sidewall spacer comprises reducing a lateral width of
the second sidewall spacer by about 100 .ANG. or more after the
deep source/drain implant.
Description
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to semiconductor
devices and methods for making the same.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Current trends in the semiconductor industry include faster
switching speeds, reduced power consumption, and lower operating
voltages, wherein the performance of MOS transistors needs to be
correspondingly improved. For example, high-speed transistors are
required for modern wireless communications systems, portable
computers, and other low-power, low-voltage devices, wherein MOS
transistors must be adapted to operate at lower voltages using less
power. Carrier mobility in a MOS transistor has a significant
impact on power consumption and switching performance. The carrier
mobility is a measure of the average speed of a carrier (e.g.,
holes or electrons) in a given semiconductor, given by the average
drift velocity of the carrier per unit electric field. Improving
the carrier mobility in the channel region of a MOS transistor can
improve the switching speed, and can also facilitate operation at
lower voltages, alone or in combination with reducing the
transistor channel length and gate dielectric thickness to improve
current drive and switching performance.
[0003] Carrier mobility of a MOS transistor is affected by the
mechanical stress in the device channel. The carrier mobility can
be improved by depositing silicon/germanium alloy or other material
layers between upper and lower silicon layers under compressive
stress, in order to enhance hole carrier mobility in a channel
region. For NMOS transistors, tensile stress in the channel
material improves carrier mobility by lifting conduction band
degeneracy. However, buried silicon/germanium channel layer devices
have shortcomings, including increased alloy scattering in the
channel region that degrades electron mobility, a lack of favorable
conduction band offset which mitigates the enhancement of electron
mobility, and the need for large germanium concentrations to
produce strain and thus enhanced mobility. Furthermore, such
additional alloy layers and silicon layers are costly, adding
further processing steps to the device manufacturing procedure.
[0004] Thus, there is a need for methods and apparatus by which the
carrier mobility and other electrical operational properties of MOS
transistor devices may be improved so as to facilitate improved
switching speed and low-power, low-voltage operation, without
significantly adding to the cost or complexity of the manufacturing
process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The following presents a simplified summary in order to
provide a basic understanding of one or more aspects of the
invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the
invention, and is neither intended to identify key or critical
elements of the invention, nor to delineate the scope thereof.
Rather, the primary purpose of the summary is to present some
concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the
more detailed description that is presented later.
[0006] The invention relates to methods for transistor fabrication,
in which relatively wide sidewall spacers are provided along
lateral sides of a transistor gate structure during deep
source/drain implantation to control the location of the
source/drains on either side of the transistor channel region, and
the spacers are narrowed after the deep source/drain implant to
facilitate inducing enhanced stress in the transistor channel, to
improve source/drain contact resistance, and to improve PMD gap
fill. The invention may be employed in conjunction with stress
inducing PMD liner material layers formed over the transistor after
source/drain implantation, wherein the reduced sidewall spacer
width facilitates inducing enhanced stress at the center of the
transistor channel.
[0007] In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a method is
provided for fabricating a transistor. The method comprises forming
a gate structure, forming a first sidewall spacer alongside the
gate structure, and forming a second sidewall spacer alongside the
first spacer. The method further comprises performing a deep
source/drain implant after forming the second sidewall spacer, and
removing at least a portion of the second sidewall spacer after the
deep source/drain implant. The first and second sidewall spacers
may be fabricated using different materials, wherein all or a
portion of the second sidewall spacer can be etched after the deep
source/drain implant using an etch process that is selective to the
first sidewall spacer material. In one example, the first sidewall
spacer comprises silicon nitride or silicon oxynitride having
carbon, wherein the second sidewall spacer material is
substantially free of carbon. In this example, the second spacer
material can be selectively removed after the source/drain implant
via a phosphoric acid etch without removing significant amounts of
the first spacer and without damaging STI trench oxide.
[0008] The following description and annexed drawings set forth in
detail certain illustrative aspects and implementations of the
invention. These are indicative of but a few of the various ways in
which the principles of the invention may be employed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating an
exemplary transistor fabrication method in accordance with the
present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a detailed flow diagram illustrating an exemplary
implementation of the invention using dual sidewall spacers;
and
[0011] FIGS. 3A-3O are partial side elevation views in section
illustrating an exemplary integrated circuit with MOS transistors
undergoing fabrication processing generally in accordance with the
method of FIG. 2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0012] One or more implementations of the present invention will
now be described with reference to the attached drawings, wherein
like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements
throughout, and wherein the illustrated structures are not
necessarily drawn to scale.
[0013] The invention provides techniques for improving transistor
performance by facilitating application of stress to improve
carrier mobility, such as tensile stress provided to NMOS channel
regions, and by source/drain contact resistance improvement. In one
particular implementation illustrated and described hereinafter, a
stress inducing PMD liner nitride film is formed over the
transistor following silicide processing to impart stress in the
transistors, where the liner protects the underlying transistors
from a subsequently formed pre-metal dielectric (PMD) material and
operates as an etch-stop layer in forming openings for contacts to
transistor terminals through the PMD material. In accordance with
the invention, a dual sidewall spacer technique is employed to
provide wide spacers during deep source/drain implantation, with a
narrower spacer during silicide processing and PMD liner formation,
by which the contact resistance of the silicide source/drain
contact can be reduced, PMD gap fill can be improved, and by which
the PMD liner has a greater impact on the stress level at the
center of the transistor channel.
[0014] The inventors have appreciated that it is desirable to
increase carrier mobility throughout the length of the transistor
channel, including the central portion of the channel, which may be
accomplished by depositing certain stress inducing materials over
the transistors. However, the inventors have found that the induced
stress at any location in the semiconductor material varies with
the distance between the stress inducing material and the
semiconductor material. In the case where a PMD liner material is
deposited over the transistor after silicide processing, the
resulting stress at the central portion of the channel can be
increased by reducing the distance from the PMD liner to the
channel center. The invention provides techniques for reducing this
distance, and hence increasing the stress effect at the channel
center, by reducing the sidewall spacer width at the point where
the PMD liner is formed during fabrication.
[0015] The improved induced stress, in turn, results in improved
carrier mobility and hence improved transistor drive current. In
one example, reducing the sidewall spacer width from 700 .ANG. to
500 .ANG. results in about 20-25% increase in carrier mobility,
leading to about 5-10% higher drive current. However, the inventors
have further appreciated that merely decreasing the sidewall spacer
width throughout fabrication processing may lead to unacceptable
transistor leakage current because the sidewall spacer width also
serves to set the lateral location of the deep source/drain dopants
during implantation. Thus, if the sidewall spacers are too narrow
during deep source/drain implantation, the dopants may diffuse too
far under the gate (e.g., toward the center of the channel) during
subsequent processing, which may cause higher transistor leakage
current.
[0016] Referring initially to FIG. 1, the invention accordingly
provides fabrication methods in which initially wide sidewall
spacers are provided during deep source/drain implantation, and
narrower spacers are subsequently provided during formation of the
stress inducing PMD liner, whereby improved transistor performance
can be realized without adversely impacting leakage current. A
method 2 is illustrated in FIG. 1 in accordance with the present
invention. While the method 2 and other methods are illustrated and
described below as a series of acts or events, it will be
appreciated that the present invention is not limited by the
illustrated ordering of such acts or events. For example, some acts
may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts
or events apart from those illustrated and/or described herein, in
accordance with the invention. In addition, not all illustrated
steps may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with
the present invention. Furthermore, the methods according to the
present invention may be implemented in association with the
devices and systems illustrated and described herein as well as in
association with other structures not illustrated.
[0017] Beginning at 4, isolation processing and well formation are
performed at 6 in the method 2, wherein any suitable isolation
processing may be performed at 6, such as local oxidation of
silicon (LOCOS) processing to form field oxide (FOX) isolation
structures, shallow trench isolation (STI) processing, or other
suitable techniques to form isolation structures between active
regions of a semiconductor body. Patterned gate structures are then
formed at 8 over channel regions of the semiconductor body. The
invention may be employed in fabricating transistors with any
suitable gate structure, such as a thin gate dielectric (e.g.,
oxides such as SiO.sub.2, or other dielectric material) formed over
the semiconductor channel, with an overlying conductive gate (e.g.,
doped polysilicon, metal, or stacks or multi-layer gate contact
structures), which are formed at 8 by any suitable means, such as
deposition of the gate dielectric and gate contact layers, followed
by etching to define the patterned gate structure. At 10, a drain
extension implant is performed to initially dope a shallow portion
of prospective source/drain regions on either side of the channel.
Any suitable drain extension implant may be performed at 10,
including but not limited to lightly-doped-drain (LDD) implants,
moderately-doped-drain (MDD) implants, etc.
[0018] Sidewall spacers are formed at 12 along lateral sides of the
patterned gate structures. As described further below with respect
to FIGS. 2 and 3A-3O, dual sidewall spacers may be formed at 12.
Deep source/drain implantation is performed at 14 to further define
the source/drain regions, after which a portion of the sidewall
spacers is removed at 16 to reduce the effective or net sidewall
spacer width. Silicide is then formed at 18 over the source/drains
and the gate contact, and a PMD liner is formed at 20 to impart
stress in the transistor for carrier mobility improvement. A PMD
dielectric material layer is then formed over the liner at 22 and
conductive contacts are formed at 24 through select portions of the
PMD layer to provide electrical connection to the transistor gate
and source/drains. Interconnect metallization and other back end
processing is then performed at 26 to complete the device, and the
method 2 ends at 28.
[0019] Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3A-3O, FIG. 2 illustrates an
exemplary detailed method 50 in accordance with the invention where
dual sidewall spacers are employed to provide relatively wide
spacers during source/drain implantation (e.g., to control the
lateral location of the source/drains and hence transistor leakage
current) and to provide narrower spacers thereafter during
silicidation and PMD liner formation (e.g., to improve contact
resistance, PMD gap fill, and carrier mobility). FIGS. 3A-3O
illustrate an exemplary integrated circuit device 102 with MOS
transistors undergoing fabrication processing generally in
accordance with the method 50 of FIG. 2.
[0020] Beginning at 52 in FIG. 2, isolation processing and well
formation are performed at 54. In FIG. 3A, the exemplary device 102
is illustrated following well formation and isolation processing
beginning with a semiconductor body 104. The device 102 comprises
includes NMOS and PMOS active regions of the semiconductor body
104, wherein a p-well 106 is formed in the NMOS region and an
n-well 108 is formed in the PMOS region. STI isolation structures
110 are formed by etching trenches in isolation regions of the
semiconductor body 104 and filling the trenches with oxide or other
insulating material to separate the active regions and the devices
thereof from one another and from other electrical components and
circuits in the device 102, although LOCOS type field oxide
isolation structures may alternatively be used.
[0021] At 56 in FIG. 2, patterned gate structures are formed over
prospective channel regions of the semiconductor body 104. As
illustrated in FIG. 3A, the exemplary gate structures in the NMOS
and PMOS regions include a thin gate dielectric 112 (e.g.,
SiO.sub.2, etc.) and a conductive gate contact 114 (e.g., doped
polysilicon or other conductive material), wherein the gate
dielectric 112 is situated between the conductive gate contact 114
and the prospective transistor channel regions. Any suitable gate
structures may be employed within the scope of the invention,
including but not limited to the illustrated gate dielectric and
contact structures 112, and 114, respectively, or other suitable
material layers or multi-layers, including but not limited to metal
gate layers. In the exemplary implementation, the gate dielectric
material 112 is formed over the surface of the semiconductor body
104 by thermal oxidation and/or deposition, after which a layer of
polysilicon 114 is deposited over the gate dielectric layer 112.
The polysilicon 114 is then selectively etched using reactive ion
etching or other suitable etch process with corresponding etch
masking to define the patterned gate structures as shown in FIG. 3A
in the NMOS and PMOS regions of the device 102.
[0022] The method 50 continues at 58 in FIG. 2, where a polysilicon
oxide layer is formed through thermal oxidation or suitable
deposition process (e.g., chemical vapor deposition (CVD)).
Thereafter, thin nitride offset spacers are formed at 60. FIG. 3B
illustrates the prospective NMOS region of the device 102 with thin
poly oxide structures 115 formed along the sides of the patterned
gate 112, 114, and nitride offset spacers 117 formed along the
outer sides of the poly oxide 115. Although the remaining
description below is provided in the context of fabricating an NMOS
transistor, similar processing steps can be employed at suitable
points in the process flow to construct PMOS transistors, with
n-type regions being generally substituted for p-type regions and
vice versa. A drain extension (e.g., LDD) implant is then performed
at 62 in FIG. 2. As illustrated in FIG. 3C, a low energy, high dose
LDD implantation process 200 is performed to provide n-type dopants
into shallow portions of the exposed prospective source/drain
regions 116 within the p-well 106. After the LDD implant at 62, the
method 50 proceeds to 64 where a cap oxide 119 is formed over the
device 102, as illustrated in FIG. 3D.
[0023] In accordance with the present invention, first and second
sidewall spacers are then formed at 66-72 in FIG. 2. The first
sidewall spacer is formed at 66 and 68, with a first sidewall
spacer material 120a being formed over the gate structure 112, 114
and over the source/drain regions 116, as illustrated in FIG. 3E.
Any suitable materials, thickness, and deposition techniques may be
employed to form the first spacer material 120a at 66 within the
scope of the invention. In the illustrated implementation, the
first sidewall spacer material 120a is a BTBAS silicon nitride
(e.g., Si.sub.WC.sub.XN.sub.Y) or a BTBAS silicon oxynitride
(Si.sub.WC.sub.XN.sub.YO.sub.Z) formed by a chemical vapor
deposition (CVD) process 202 in FIG. 3E using a BTBAS
(BisT-ButylAminoSilane) precursor, where the BTBAS material 120a
includes carbon. As discussed below, the exemplary first sidewall
spacer material 120a preferably comprises a different material than
the subsequently formed second sidewall spacer material, such that
the second material can be easily removed by selective etching
following deep source/drain implantation (e.g., at 82 in FIG. 2 as
discussed further below).
[0024] At 68, a first anisotropic etch process 204 is performed
(FIG. 3F) to selectively remove the first sidewall spacer material
120a from over the gate 114 and an outer portion of the
source/drain regions 116, leaving first sidewall spacers 120a
situated along the lateral sides of the gate structure (e.g.,
outward of the poly oxide 115 and the nitride offset spacers 117 in
this example). Any etch process 204 can be employed which operates
to remove the first spacer material 120a in a generally anisotropic
fashion.
[0025] A second (e.g., sacrificial) sidewall spacer is then formed
at 70 and 72 in the method 50 of FIG. 2. As illustrated in FIG. 3G,
a second sidewall spacer material 102b is formed via a deposition
process 206 (e.g., at 70 in FIG. 2). Any suitable materials,
thickness, and deposition techniques may be employed to form the
second spacer material 120b at 70 within the scope of the
invention. In the illustrated example, a CVD deposition process 208
is used to deposit silicon nitride or silicon oxynitride material
120b over the gate 114, over the first sidewall spacers 120a, and
over the outer portion of the source/drain regions 116, where the
exemplary second spacer material 120b has substantially no carbon.
It is noted that using two different materials for the first and
second spacers 120a and 120b facilitates selective removal of the
second spacers 120b by selective etching as illustrated and
described further below with respect to FIG. 3L.
[0026] As illustrated in FIG. 31, a second anisotropic etch process
210 is performed (72 in FIG. 2) to selectively remove the second
sidewall spacer material 120b from over the gate 114 and the
source/drain regions 116, leaving the second sidewall spacers 120b
having a width of about 100 .ANG. or more along the outer lateral
sides of the first sidewall spacers 120a. In the exemplary device
102, the combined spacers 120a, 120b provide a net spacer width of
about 300-800 .ANG., where the second spacers 120b can be slightly
more or less than half the effective or net width.
[0027] At 74 in FIG. 2, any remaining cap oxide (e.g., formed at 64
above) is removed via a wet or dry etch process 210, as illustrated
in FIG. 31, and an etch clean operation is performed at 76.
Referring to 78, a deep source/drain implantation process 212 is
performed to further dope the source/drain regions 116 with n-type
dopants, as illustrated in FIG. 3J, where the lateral extent or
location of the implanted deep source/drain dopants is largely
determined by the net width of the first and second sidewall
spacers 120a, 120b. The resist for source/drain patterning is then
removed. If oxygen ash is used for resist removal, then a diluted
HF may be used to remove the thin silicon oxide formed on the
second spacer during the ash step. Then referring also to FIG. 3K,
a thin chemical oxide 121 (e.g., about 10 .ANG.) is formed at 80
using a process 214 to protect the source/drains 116 and the top of
the gate 114 during subsequent etching. In this example, the
chemical oxide 121 is formed by application of hydrogen peroxide
with sulphuric acid that results in the formation of a very thin
chemical oxide 121 on the upper surface of the source/drains 116
and the gate 114. The surface of the second spacer is substantially
free of the chemical oxide formation.
[0028] Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3L, as discussed above, while
it is desirable to have wide spacers 120 to control the lateral
location of the deep source/drain regions 116, it is also desirable
to have narrower spacers 120 when siliciding the source/drains 116
and also when depositing a stress inducing material over the
transistors. Accordingly, a wet etch process is performed at 82
(e.g., etch process 216 in FIG. 3L) to remove at least a portion of
the second sidewall spacers 120b after the deep source/drain
implant. In the exemplary device 102, the wet etch process 216
employs phosphoric acid at a temperature of about 160 degrees C in
order to remove substantially all of the second sidewall spacer
material 120b, wherein the wet etch process 216 reduces the lateral
width of the second sidewall spacer 120b by about 100 .ANG. or
more.
[0029] Where the first and second spacer materials 120a and 120b
are different (e.g., a first SiN or SiON 120a that includes carbon
and a second SiN or SiON 120b that is substantially free of
carbon), the exemplary phosphoric acid wet etch process is highly
selective to the first spacers 120a (e.g., selectivity of greater
than 10:1) and is also highly selective to the chemical oxide 121
and to the STI trench oxide 110 (e.g., selectivity of greater than
100:1), whereby substantially all of the second spacer material
120b is removed while only a small amount of the first spacer
material 120a is removed (e.g., about 10 .ANG. or less), without
significant degradation of the STI trench oxide 110. At 84, a
source/drain dopant activation anneal process is performed, by
which the dopants in the source/drains 116 may diffuse further,
wherein the source/drain activation anneal at 84 may optionally be
performed prior to the wet etch at 82.
[0030] Referring now to FIG. 3M, silicide processing is performed
(e.g., 86 in FIG. 2) to create conductive silicide structures 124
at the upper surfaces of the transistor gate 114 and the
source/drains 116. Any suitable silicide materials 124 may be
employed, such as nickel or cobalt silicide. In one example, a
layer of nickel is deposited over the device 102 after removing all
or a portion of the second sidewall spacers 120b, wherein the
deposited nickel overlies the gate polysilicon 114 of the patterned
gate structure and also overlies the doped source/drains 116 of the
substrate 104. A thermal anneal is performed to react the nickel
with the gate polysilicon 114 and with the source/drain substrate
material 116, thereby forming a metal silicide 124 above the
transistor terminals 114 and 116, as illustrated in FIG. 3M. It is
noted at this point that the reduction of the sidewall spacer
widths via the wet etch process allows source/drain silicide
formation closer to the gate 114, whereby the source/drain silicide
124 will have improved (e.g., lower) contact resistance.
[0031] As a further benefit, the narrowed spacers 120 allow
formation of a stress inducing material layer closer to the center
of the channel region below the gate dielectric 112. As illustrated
in FIG. 3N, a PECVD process 218 is performed to deposit a silicon
nitride PMD liner 130 over the gate and the remaining first
sidewall spacers 120a, wherein the liner 130 can be any material
that provides a stress in the transistor. In the exemplary device
102, the silicon nitride PMD liner 130 has an as-deposited hydrogen
content of about 20 atomic percent or more and provides an initial
tensile stress of about 400-600 MPa in at least a portion of the
NMOS region of the semiconductor body 104. Any suitable nitride
deposition process 218 may be used, wherein the exemplary PECVD
process 218 is performed at about 350 degrees C. or less, with a
deposition chamber pressure of about 3.5 Torr or more, a silane
(SiH.sub.4) gas flow of about 150 sccm or less, and an ammonia
(NH.sub.3) gas flow of about 2500-3000 sccm, using high frequency
RF power of about 50 W at 13.56 MHz, and low frequency power of
about 10-20 W at 350 KHz.
[0032] The exemplary liner film 130 is meta-stable with a
relatively high hydrogen content and operates to impart a moderate
tensile stress in all or a portion of the NMOS region of the
substrate 104 after the deposition process 218, such that
subsequent application of thermal energy during subsequent back-end
processing causes a reduction in the hydrogen content and an
increase in the applied tensile stress in the NMOS region (e.g., to
about 1 GPa or more in at least a portion of the NMOS region).
Moreover, the PMD liner 130 may be formed to any suitable thickness
within the scope of the invention, such as about 300 .ANG. or more,
about 500 .ANG. in one example, where the liner 130 also operates
as an etch stop layer in the creation of contact openings in a
subsequently formed PMD dielectric material, wherein the thickness
of the layer 130 may be selected according to the etch stop
performance as well as according to the induced stress
considerations.
[0033] In FIG. 3O, an initial dielectric (PMD) layer 132 is then
deposited (e.g., at 90 in FIG. 2) over the nitride liner 130, where
any suitable PMD materials and thicknesses may be employed. In one
example, the PMD layer 132 comprises a phosphorous doped silicon
oxide, deposited to a thickness of about 9000 .ANG. over the stress
inducing PMD liner 130, where the PMD layer 132 provides insulation
between overlying and underlying conductive features, such as
between the silicide contacts 124 and later-formed conductive
interconnect features in subsequent metalization layers of the
device 102 (not shown). The deposition of the PMD layer 132 and
subsequent back-end processing steps provide thermal processing of
the PMD liner nitride 130, causing the as-deposited meta-stable
nitride material layer 130 to further stabilize and thereby to
increase the tensile stress provided in the semiconductor body 104,
wherein the proximity of the liner 130 to the transistor channel
and the resulting stress related mobility improvements are enhanced
by the selective removal of all or a portion of the second spacers
120b above. Conductive contacts 134 are then formed at 92 through
the PMD layer 132 to connect with the silicide 124, after which a
multilayer or multi-level interconnect routing (e.g., metalization)
structure (not shown) is then formed above the PMD layer 132, and
other back-end processing is performed at 94 before the method 50
ends at 96.
[0034] Although the invention has been illustrated and described
with respect to one or more implementations, alterations and/or
modifications may be made to the illustrated examples without
departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. In
particular regard to the various functions performed by the above
described components or structures (assemblies, devices, circuits,
systems, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a "means") used
to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless
otherwise indicated, to any component or structure which performs
the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is
functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent
to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the
herein illustrated exemplary implementations of the invention. In
addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been
disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such
feature may be combined with one or more other features of the
other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any
given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent that
the terms "including", "includes", "having", "has", "with", or
variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and
the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner
similar to the term "comprising".
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